Editing Littoral zone (section)

== Habitats in littoral zones ==
Many vertebrates (e.g., mammals, waterfowl, reptiles) and invertebrates (insects, etc.) use both the littoral zone as well as the terrestrial ecosystem for food and habitat. Biota that are commonly assumed to reside in the [[pelagic zone]] often rely heavily on resources from the littoral zone.<ref name="Mandal Dutta Das Mukherjee intertidal microbial">{{cite journal |last1=Mandal |first1=Abhishek |last2=Dutta |first2=Ahana |last3=Das |first3=Reshmi |last4=Mukherjee |first4=Joydeep |title=Role of intertidal microbial communities in carbon dioxide sequestration and pollutant removal: A review |journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin |date=September 2021 |volume=170 |pages=112626 |doi=10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112626 |bibcode=2021MarPB.17012626M }}</ref> Littoral areas of ponds and lakes are typically better oxygenated, structurally more complex, and afford more abundant and diverse food resources than do profundal sediments. All these factors lead to a high diversity of insects and very complex trophic interactions.<ref name="Mandal Dutta Das Mukherjee intertidal microbial"/>

The great lakes of the world represent a global heritage of surface freshwater and aquatic biodiversity. Species lists for 14 of the world's largest lakes reveal that 15% of the global diversity (the total number of species) of freshwater fishes, 9% of non-insect freshwater invertebrate diversity, and 2% of aquatic insect diversity live in this handful of lakes. The vast majority (more than 93%) of species inhabit the shallow, nearshore littoral zone, and 72% are completely restricted to the littoral zone, even though littoral habitats are a small fraction of total lake areas.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Vadeboncoeur |first1=Yvonne |last2=McIntyre |first2=Peter B. |last3=Vander Zanden |first3=M. Jake |title=Borders of Biodiversity: Life at the Edge of the World's Large Lakes |journal=BioScience |date=July 2011 |volume=61 |issue=7 |pages=526–537 |doi=10.1525/bio.2011.61.7.7 }}</ref>

Because the littoral zone is important for many recreational and industrial purposes, it is often severely affected by many human activities that increase nutrient loading, spread invasive species, cause acidification and [[climate change]], and produce increased fluctuations in water level.<ref name="Mandal Dutta Das Mukherjee intertidal microbial"/> Littoral zones are both more negatively affected by human activity and less intensively studied than offshore waters. Conservation of the remarkable biodiversity and biotic integrity of large lakes will require better integration of littoral zones into our understanding of lake ecosystem functioning and focused efforts to alleviate human impacts along the shoreline.<ref name=":0" />